Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
by tinkerbell817
Summary: Hermione is away for a few days and it's driving both Ron and Hermione absolutely mad.
1. Day 1

Oh, woe am I

Oh, woe am I.

She is gone.

For three complete days.

For three days, I am here and she is not.

For three days, I cannot hear her lovely, sweet voice.

For three days, I cannot look into her deep, beautiful brown eyes.

For three days, I cannot hold her, or hug her.

For three days I cannot tell her how very much I love her.

For three days that I cannot feel the touch of her hand in mine, the warmth of her body next to mine, the caress of her lips upon mine.

How I miss her already and she has only been gone for a day. To be more accurate, she left this morning. The next two will be torture. I hope she is having fun though. As long as she has a good time then I am happy. I will not be anywhere near as happy until she comes home though, and I can wrap her in a warm, loving embrace and tell her how much I love her. However, I have two days to wait yet, to wrap her in that warm hug and tell her that I missed her and that I love her. Two more days and then she will be home, and I can finally lay eyes on her again, and tell her that I love her, and then all will be well in my world.

I cannot wait.

--

Hermione chuckled softly as she read his latest post. This letter did not directly address her, but Hermione knew who the writer was. She knew the familiar tilt of the messy penmanship, the curling tail on the letters y and g, and the silly, endearing way he referred to her without mentioning her name. _Who knew that boy was such a hopeless romantic?_

She and Ron had been together for over a year. She had just finished her seventh and final year at Hogwarts and he was off fighting the few Death Eaters that lingered after the fall of their master. It had been a tough year so far, but everything was settling back into near normalcy. Harry was still recuperating from the loss of his leg, as Ginny tried to balance helping him and attending a shattered Hogwarts, with moderate success.

During the war, many Healers had been lost through ruthless raids on St. Mungo's. Now employees were needed for the hospital and so training of any Hogwarts graduate was being greatly accelerated. That is why Hermione was away. A training conference in France made seeing each other impossible for a few days. She was away preparing to become a Healer and Ron was left at home to continue his work.

The conference would last from Wednesday until Friday, and left no free time. From 7am to 11pm, the trainees were kept hopping. Lectures and demonstrations filled their day. It was very educational and Hermione knew that she would need to know what they were trying to teach her, but the whole thing was quite boring at times. Fortunately, Hermione noticed, not all three days would be quite so bad. A mixer was planned for the following night, giving them all some free time.

In the moments when no one was speaking, Hermione sat and thought about Ron. Despite the hustle and bustle of the conference, and getting to meet interesting new people, she could not help but miss him. As another Healer got up to talk she wondered what Ron was doing at that moment.

--

Ron was, in fact, riding his broom around Godric's Hollow trying to forget for a moment that Hermione was not home. He had driven Harry crazy already this morning, talking about her. At least he had until Ginny finally snapped at them both, ordering them both out of her house while she worked. Hermione was gone and he could not stop thinking about her. He knew that it was important training and all. Now, however, he just wanted Hermione near him. The letter had helped him calm down but he was still in an odd humor.

Executing a spiraling loop around a nearby tree, he hummed bits of a muggle song that he'd once listened to in the car with Hermione. They had been on the way to visit her parents. The situation with her gone had reminded him of the song that he didn't particularly like.

**Every time I think of you ****  
****I always catch my breath ****  
****And I'm still standing here ****  
****And you're miles away**

**I spend my time ****  
****Thinking about you ****  
****And it's almost driving me wild ****  
****And there's a heart that's breaking ****  
****Down this long distance line tonight**

Ron couldn't help but notice that parts of the song were appropriate for the circumstances. He paused in his flying trying to think of more of the song. Ron smiled and resumed his flying, speeding up to race a flock of birds as he remembered the chorus.

**No matter ****  
****What my friends say ****  
****I ain't missing you **  
Nothing could be farther from the truth. "Just two more days left." Ron repeated to himself. It was quickly become a mantra to help him keep his sanity, what little of it there was to begin with.


	2. Day 2

Two days have come and gone

Two days have come and gone.

I almost cannot stand waiting any longer.

How I long to see her, to kiss her, to hold her.

But I cannot.

Not until she is here with me.

I wish I could have her here right now.

Sitting next to me or laying next to me, wrapped up in a nice warm blanket. Wrapped in each others arms listening to the silence around us, and falling asleep to the endless dreams of that one special one day when we are finally together forever.

Oh how much I wish she were here.

But alas, I have one day yet to wait. Or then again I have only one day to wait. Only twenty four short hours and she will be here, and I can hold her, and tell her that I love her, and that I've missed her. Just twenty four short hours. One short day. One more, that's all.

I hope I can last, for I miss her more than the sun misses the dawn, and more than the stars miss the night sky. I love her and want here with me more than anything. I want to kiss her, and tell her that I love her.

However, I have talked to her. And she is having a good time, which makes me happy. But I still won't be anywhere near as happy until she is back and I can wrap her in my arms, and feel the press of her lips against mine. That will make me the happiest man on earth. Just to feel those lips pressed against mine, even if only for a brief second.

Oh, how I miss her.

Just one more day.

One more day.

--

Laughing, Hermione put the letter away. She was missing Ron as much as he was missing her but the letters were too funny coming from Ron and she knew that he wrote them to make her laugh as much as to tell her how he felt. Leaning back in the chair Hermione kicked her shoes off. It had had been a tiring day.

First there were lectures and demonstrations until eight. Then came the mixer that lasted until eleven. It was a stroke of luck that she had been able to sneak out and use the floo to talk to Ron for a few moments right before they all left for the party. He had sounded relieved to hear her voice and she hadn't wanted to leave but then people had walked by and she'd almost fallen trying to get up.

The mixer was meant to be a fun time for the students to get to know each other. Hermione didn't think that she would be able to fully enjoy it. The music was loud, the room was hot, and all of the dancing couples just reminded her of Ron. But the short conversation with Ron had set her at ease and she made some new friends after all.

Looking at her watch she saw that it was already 11:30. This time tomorrow she would be back in Ron's arms. Sighing she stared at the watch, _It must be slow, that's it. It can't really be that long. But then, it would have to be about two days slow._

Moaning and massaging her sore feet she thought _I can't wait to get home._

--

Meanwhile Ron was at home, lying in bed. That would have been perfectly normal for that time of night had it not been for the way he chose to lay in bed. He was laying, fully clothed, on top of the blankets. His feet were on the pillow and his head at the foot of the bed. From this bizarre angle, he stared up at the ceiling. His eyes traced patterns in the ceiling as he laid in a sort of trance.

He had tired himself out today. He had tried anything to keep his mind off of her and in the process Ron had inadvertently finished all of the work that he had scheduled for the next few days. He had pegged away like a mad man, tracking down people and filing paperwork until there was none left to do. What he would do tomorrow at work was a mystery. And it would only be worse because the next night would be when Hermione finally came home.

All of that, three days worth of labor squashed into eight short hours and still he could not sleep, the night before had been uncomfortable with dreams waking him up every so often. _What am I going to have to do to get some sleep?_ Ron thought kicking off his shoes, _She's going to be home tomorrow and I'm not going to be able to stay awake if I keep this up. _Just like that it hit him and he smiled. She would be home tomorrow. _Tomorrow!_


	3. Day 3

Day three is here at last

Day three is here at last!

She will be home soon.

And I can talk to her and tell her that I love her.

Find out how her trip was and if she had fun.

Tonight I can see her, and give her that nice warm hug I've been wanting to give her for three long and dreadful days.

Three long days without being able to tell her that I love her.

Three long days without her being here with me.

It's been the worst kind of torture imaginable. But tonight I will be able to see her. Tonight I'll be able to talk to her. I love her dearly and can't wait to see her. I guess I'll have to wait just a few more hours though. But then she will be here and my wait will be over. I have missed her so much these few long days. I hope she had a good trip. I will find out later on tonight though I am sure.

In the mean time, I love her more than anything in the world, and am sitting here, waiting impatiently for her return.

--

Hermione read the latest message and checked her watch. It was only 10:45 am. She wouldn't be getting home until 6:15 pm. That was seven and a half more hours until she would be home. Seven and a half more hours until she was going to get to be in his arms. Seven and a half more hours until she was going to be able to be with Ron.

Putting on her shoes, she began heading for the next activity. It was going to be a long seven and a half hours.

--

Harry and Ginny watched as Ron wore a path in the carpet, pacing. He had nothing to do and no where to go for seven more hours. Hermione would finally be home then. In the mean time this tallest Quidditch obsessed Weasley was driving them insane.

"What can we do about it?" Harry asked, bemusedly as he sat reading the paper, glancing over it at his best friend.

Ginny smiled as she poured tea for herself, "The only thing that I can think of is food laced with a bit of calming potion or a sleeping draught. But it is very sweet to think that he misses her that much. I didn't know my thickheaded big brother had it in him."

"Sweet to you maybe. I'm the one he's been driving insane, listening to him talk about Hermione like that for two full days." Harry commented, "But what are we going to do? He needs to put that energy to use or he's going to wear himself out before she even gets home."

"Hmmm…" Ginny mused, "What if we have him go home and arrange a surprise for her? You know, he's wanted to propose to her forever now. This might be the perfect time to have him go through with it."

Dragging his hands through his already ruffled hair Harry thought about it and grinned, "Oy, Ron! Come here."

--

Half an hour later, after Ginny had finally convinced him to do it, Harry and Ron were in Diagon Alley at a jewelry shop.

--

Hermione tapped her foot impatiently. She was packing her bag and at the moment it was taking forever. Folding her shirts had never seemed to be such a chore. She had half an hour to get all of her things together and make it to the portkey point. She wanted to be home but this was taking so long. She could already hear people moving about in the hall, leaving no doubt that she was behind.

Peeking out the door, she saw girls with twice her amount of luggage, already packed, _How is that possible? We were all released at the same time._

Then she smacked herself in the forehead. _Of course, I forgot again. I'm a witch._

Going back into her room, Hermione waved her wand over the room and her things packed themselves neatly into her solitary small brown suitcase. _Well, nothing to do now, I might as well go down. I can't wait to get home!_

--

Ron was pacing. He couldn't help it, he was pacing. There was nothing else to do. He had the rest of the weekend off so there was no work to distract him. He had cleaned the apartment top to bottom the muggle way so that it took longer. But it was finished now, it had only taken a few hours. He glanced around the room. Everything was in place.

It was 5: 45 pm. Only half an hour until she was finally home. Everything was in place. The lights in the rooms were turned down low, red roses, her favorite, were scattered all about. The music floating through the air was soft and purely instrumental. It was all perfect.

--

Hermione waited impatiently for the line of portkey users to die down. In just five minutes she was scheduled to be at Platform 9 ¾, a designated portkey arrival area, the closest one to home. Just a little while longer and she'd be back in Ron's arms again.

"London- Platform 9 ¾!" a commanding voice called out just then.

Moving quickly to the front she smiled and took hold of the soda can that the man was offering to her and several others. Hermione counted to herself, _Five, four, three, two, one!_ There was the familiar tug at her navel and she was off.

--

Ron watched the arrival area intently for any sign of that familiar head of bushy brown hair. Two new groups had come in together and in the rush of loved ones he searched for Hermione. It seemed a hopeless case in the large crowd before him. Then he sighted her, standing off to the edge looking around for him.

--

She searched the platform for him, standing off to the side of the crowd. It only took a moment before she found that telltale red hair. Her eyes locked on his as they walked toward each other.

--

They smiled at each other and Hermione dropped her suitcase, smiling. Ron caught her up in a kiss that left her breathless. He grabbed her suitcase and they apparated together. Seconds later they appeared in Hermione's flat, or at least she did. Ron was no where to be found as she surveyed the dining room in its soft glow with a path of roses leading into the other room from which she could hear a hint of music.

She noticed then a bouquet of more red roses sat on the dining table along with a card that simply said, _Follow the path. _Smiling she sniffed the gorgeous flowers and slipped off her shoes and coat. From there Hermione followed the path, wondering what wonderful surprise awaited her. _That boy is such a romantic, who would've guessed?_

She walked through the kitchen and into the living room where she found Ron, some food, and a whole lot of roses. All about the room red roses were spread, and the lamps gave off a romantic glow. Focusing her attention back on Ron, she smiled as he sat there smiling sheepishly. She sat down next to him on the couch and kissed him, "Ron, this is amazing."

"I just wanted to welcome you home. You know I've missed you." He tried to explain lamely.

Hermione glanced around the room again and looked at the food laid out on the table before them. It wasn't something romantic like another man would've done. It was a burger and chips, from her favorite muggle restaurant nearby. She had to laugh at this sight, it was so typically Ron. "Burgers and chips?"

Worried, he rushed to say, "Um… I… Well, you know that I can't cook and I thought that you'd be tired off all that fancy food that they serve in France. So I… Ummm… got your favorite from that little place around the corner."

"Oh Ron it's perfect. I've been dying for one of these since I left." She assured him. With that they settled down to eat and talk a little about what the last three days had been like for her and what she'd done at the conference.

--

Half an hour later they were finished with the food and Ron was getting fidgety. Concerned, Hermione asked him, "So how were the last few days for you?"

"Well," he began, fingering his pocket oddly, "I really missed you, you know. I just couldn't get you off my mind. And I've discovered something."

He knelt in front of her, "I've discovered that I never want to be separated like that again." Pulling out a little box and opening it to reveal the little diamond ring he'd picked out, "Hermione, will you marry me?"

Shocked, all she could do for a moment was sit there as Ron looked at her intently. Then she launched herself at Ron, squealing and tackling him to the floor. "Of course!"

Then she realized what she'd done and tried to move off of him, but he held her there. They lay on the floor laughing together at the ridiculousness of the scene they made. Ron slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her as he thought, _At last!_


End file.
